Cox Bay Beach Resort and Surfing Cox Bay

We went to Tofino to surf and surf we did! We got basement prices on a condo at Cox Bay Beach Resort and took some surfing lessons. By the second day we were hitting some nice surf and spending a lot of time on our boards. Playing in the water all day was like being a kid again. It was novel to think that the big O'Neil Cold Water Classic surf competition was held on this very beach. The waves in Cox Bay beat us up a bit (click here to see the live Cox Bay Web cam). Nothing the hot tub and infrared sauna couldn't take care of!

It didn't take us long to understand something fundamental about surfing- its all about being in harmony with the environment, the waves, the currents, the water, the sand, and the surf. Nurturing this relationship with nature is what it means to truly be a surfer.

Hiking Cathedral Grove In The Snow

Garret came up for a visit and we did many fun things. We spent half of our time up island. This was his first encounter with giant old growth trees here in MacMillan Provincial Park. The combination of these towering giants covered in green moss and the pure white snow made for a mystical sight when hiking the soggy trail.

Games Games Games

Christmas Gift Opening At The Fessers

Four (Back-to-Back) Meals of Christmas

This Christmas we had four Christmases! That meant four Christmas meals!

The first was just us on Christmas Eve. We made appys but kept it simple. The truffle goat cheese was our favourite.

The second Christmas meal pictured here was with our friend and chef, Cassie and her partner, Chris. Didn't think she could top this years Thanksgiving meal, but she came through.

Traditional made from scratch apple pies greeted us as we came over to their cozy little suite. We had a few glasses of Kalona white and red then partook in the main event- the turkey (pictured above). She had removed the brest from the bird, wrapped it completely in bacon, and then slow cooked it.... amazing!

The classic mashed potatoes and gravy and bacon stuffing was the icing on the cake. Good conversation, lots of laughs, great people, great food. Great Christmas night meal.

When we arrived in Regina on Boxing Day we were treated to slow cooked, chipotle raspberry ribs and homemade seafood dip with crackers. The main meal was ham, scalloped potatoes, and cabbage rolls. Once again we couldn't imagine it tasting any better! What was better than our third Christmas meal was spending time with the whole family on Matt's side.

The next night, the day after Boxing Day, we had a beautiful Christmas meal at the Fessers. This time garlic roast beef was on the menu, Greek salad, Italian roasted vegetables, gravy, and mashed accompanied the meat. Everything was SO good. But not nearly as fun as the crazy family game we all participated in later that night!

Great Grey Owl Outside Our Window

We truly live in a wild place. In November Matt literally got ran over by a reindeer... okay actually it was just a normal doe but it actually knocked him over when they met face to face between the fence and the side of the house.

Today we spent the whole day watching an endangered Great Grey Owl that was perched on one of the branches on the giant cedar a few meters from our window. We couldn't manage to get a good pictur of it but it spent most of the rainy day sleeping, waking, and occasionally dry its wings. It really really is hard to spot due to its camouflaged feathers.

Pretty Cool.